Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted great attention in the past decade. Although grapheme is by far the most intensively studied 2D material, considerable interest has focused on transition metal dichalcogenides, especially molybdenum disulfide, because of many potential applications, including as catalysts, energy storage materials, electrode materials and in electronic devices. However, one of the biggest challenges with the prior art is how to efficiently prepare 2D materials in large amounts with a safe and environmentally method.
It is known in the art that chemical Li intercalation with n-butyllithium (n-Bu-Li) can exfoliate layered compounds and produce 2D nanosheets. However, the use of this material requires a time consuming procedure. Further, n-Bu-Li is a dangerous chemical which is very sensitive to ambient conditions and is pyrophoric.
There is therefore a need in the art for an improved process of forming 2D materials such as nano-sheets or nano-sized materials that does not utilize pyrophoric materials in the process. There is a further need in the art for a process that is not time consuming and may produce large quantities of materials in an environmentally safe manner.